TRUMP: I would call Putin and say, 'Don't do it — just stop it'

In a Wednesday interview with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, the
presumptive Republican presidential nominee said he would not
tolerate Russian military fighters "buzzing" US warships and
planes, incidents that are occurring with increasing frequency of
late.

“First of all, he has no respect for our president and our
country. He is tweaking us," Trump said of Russian President
Vladimir Putin.

"If it were me, I would call him and say 'Don’t do it. Just stop
it. Don’t do it.' They’re going to respect us," he added.

Citing his "semi-nice" relationship with Putin, Trump said that
he would "hate" to shoot down Russian planes that fly too close
to US ships. But he left the door open to the possibility if
the Russian president didn't heed his call to "back down."

"They do it again — they're going to have a problem," Trump said.

He added: "I may have to do something which you would hate to do.
It’s something I wouldn’t want to do, but I would say 'Vladimir,
don’t do it.'"

Under Putin, the Russian military has increasingly been willing
to push the boundaries of provocation against the US and
other Western countries during unwarranted military simulations.

"Buzzing" and other aggressive postures
pose little apparent outright threat to the US — many of the
Russian fighters that buzz US warships are unarmed. But they have
become part of a deliberate Russian strategy to demonstrate a
willingness to engage in confrontation.